Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Conversation 36: Eleanor Parker

Greetings! Thank you for joining us today at Clockwork Conversations. I am thrilled to welcome back to the blog author, artist, and world traveler, Eleanor Parker!

Welcome, Eleanor! Please remind our readers about who you are and what you do.

EP: I’m a Puerto
Rican-born novelist and painter, raised in the United States, Puerto Rico, and
Europe. I have a passion for travel and adventure, and my careers as a painter,
counselor, alternative health practitioner, and a Spanish language social
worker and refugee case worker, inspire my writing. I love introducing readers
to Caribbean and Latin American characters and stories. When I’m not writing, I
enjoy facilitating The Artist’s Way
creativity groups. I share my passion for telling stories at my writing blog, The Writing Life and I share my publishing journey at my
website/author blog, http://www.eleanorparkersapia.com

A Decent Woman is my debut historical novel. It has
garnered rave reviews from readers in the United States, Canada, and the UK,
and I’m thrilled to say the book was selected as the July 2015 Book of the
Month by the national organization, Las Comadres & Friends. My two adult
children live in Northern Virginia and the Netherlands, and I currently live in
West Virginia.

Q1: The bio on your
website indicates that you have spent a great deal of time living outside of
the USA. What was your favorite country to live in, and why did you love it?

EP: Yes, that’s right. My
father was in the military and I married an Army officer. Traveling has always
been a huge part of my life and continued for years until my then-husband
retired during our tour in Brussels, Belgium. We remained and raised our
children in Belgium and France for thirteen years. France is my favorite
country in the world and will always have a special place in my heart. I lived
outside of Paris with my parents as a child and returned many times during my
life. Finally we bought a vacation home in the south of France, which sold
after our divorce.

There are a million reasons
why I love France! A few are, cheese, wine, champagne, quaint French villages,
a fascinating history, the beautiful language, and a slower pace of life that
resonates with my heart. I hope to return to live in France one day, and I
still love to travel.

Q2: You’re a visual
artist (painter) as well as a painter with words… tell us a little about your
art. What motivates you most when it comes to painting?

EP: I was a painter-five
years, primarily in watercolor and pastel, before coming to writing. During
that time, I exhibited my pieces and held key positions in two art guilds in
the US and in Brussels. I love painting portraits and still life, which are
quite difficult in watercolor as it’s an unforgiving medium, but I love the
challenge. Now that I write full time, I paint when my muse tells me I need a
break, or when I am writing a tough portion of a story and need a new
perspective. Painting is my reward, you could say. Writing, my new passion,
offers me a new creative outlet, and I’ve discovered that writing does a great
job of telling the stories in my heart and soul. My artist’s eye and spirit
allow me create colorful, rich settings and atmosphere within my stories that I
hope will be conveyed on the page and will be pleasing to the reader’s
imagination.

My motivations to
paint are many: beauty in nature, simplicity and complexity in form, and the
play of light and dark. A beautiful setting, a vignette in a home, an
interesting person, a selection of music that touches me, anything really, will
inspire me to paint.

Q3: Do you have a
favorite painting of all you’ve done? What thing or place would you like to
paint in the future?

EP: My favorite painting
is a watercolor portrait of a young man who modeled for me on my front porch in
the late 90’s. It was my first serious portrait and he was a pleasure to work
with, not to mention easy on the eyes! The painting was exhibited at the
Torpedo Factory and the Athenaeum in Old Town Alexandria, and in Brussels with
Art Perspectives International. I never sold the painting for sentimental
reasons, and it hangs in my home.

At the moment, I am
working on a collage/watercolor series that reminds me of Aladdin’s Tale with
rich colors, texture, and beautiful writings. I’ve completed four pieces, and I
hope to exhibit the series next year with four additional pieces.

Q4: What was the
greatest lesson about life you have learned by living in so many diverse and
amazing places?

EP: I have a tattoo on my left shoulder that reads in French, “regrette
rien,” regret nothing. I live by that ‘rule’. The greatest lesson about life
I’ve learned is that we as human beings, no matter where we are from, where we
grew up, or even if we lived in a different era—are ultimately the same. We
share similar fears, passions, joys, and nightmares in life.

Q5: Since you’ve answered the
standard bonus question before here is one just for you: with all your travels,
what have you found to be the one truly indispensable thing that you must pack
in your carry-on bag for every trip you take?

EP: Great question, Bru! After
packing the obvious passport and a copy of the passport for good measure, I
always pack a journal and several pens to record my thoughts, the sights and
impressions of the places I’m visiting and enjoying. I don’t trust my memory,
and will journal at the drop of a hat, so I don’t forget!

Thanks so much for your super
interview questions, and the opportunity to interview with you, Bru!

~*~

Thank you so much for being
my guest once again, I learned so much more about you and it was all
fascinating!

Your Host...

Scribbler of words, singer of songs, painter of twilight skies. Author of five novels published by Booktrope, and many a scattered short story and poem published by others.
Prone to wearing pink shoes and large- brimmed hats.